Chapter 4: Social Interaction and Everyday Life in the Age of the Internet

social interaction - process of act and react to those around us

• act toward things on basis of meanings

• meaning derived from social interaction, not inherent

• meaning modified through interpretative process to handle encounters

• (Erving Goffman)

reflexivity - we know we are perceived and perceive others

• want to manage how we are perceived

microsociology - sociological subfield focused on individual interaction and communication within small groups

• contrast earlier sociological work observing large group

• (Harold Garfinkel)

civil intention - individuals indicate recognition of another’s presence but avoid gestures too intrusive

• ex. passerbys quickly glance then look away

• (Goffman)

agency - ability to think, act, make choices independently

• continuously shape reality through decisions and actions

  • people perceive reality based on background

structure - recurrent patterned arrangements and hierarchies that influence or limit choices and opportunities available to us

unfocused interaction - individuals exhibit mutual awareness of others presence but don’t engage in direct communication or conversation

• (Goffman)

focused interaction - individuals directly attend to others say and do

• (Goffman)

encounter - instance of focused interaction

• need openings which indicate civil inattention discarded

• ex. small talk, discussions, games

• (Goffman)

nonverbal communication - exchange of information/meaning through facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, movement of body

• alters/expands on what is said with words

impression management - preparing for presentation of social role

• people sensitive to how seen by others, therefore conceal and reveal information

• verbal and non-verbal

• ex. people dress/speak formally in interview vs with friends

dramaturgy - dialogue, gestures, props, characters come together to create reality

• self arises from performance based on cultural expectations, how adhere/deviate to them

• ex. funeral is somber/respectful vs funeral is party

• (Goffman)

perfomance - how we act to maintain “normality” in different social situations

• activity of participant in situation influences others

• different roles require different performances

• performer - “true self”

• character - managed impression, allows social encounters to go smoothly

• (Goffman)

front regions (front stage) - social occasions/encounters individuals act out formal roles

• “on stage performances”

• select which front to show

• stereotyped expectations

• setting - physical environment that sets scene

  • ex. classroom, movie theater, dinner table

• audience - individuals help someone enact character, intended recipient of performance, knows role and is performing

• “breaking script” makes people uncomfortable

• (Goffman)

back regions (back stage) - preparation for interaction in formal settings

• “backstage of theater”

• relax and vent feelings and styles of behavior kept in check when in front regions, reveals inner desires

• may still be front stage if performing for other people

• ex. teachers act differently in front of students vs at home

• (Goffman)

working consensus - situation performer and audience build together

• end result of dramaturgy

• actions work to maintain consensus

• (Goffman)

audience segregation - act differently in different roles, keep roles distinct and separate

• stressful to keep separate

ethnomethodology - study of methods people use to make sense of what others do/say

• people use context and background expectancies to make sense of world

• ex. understanding small talker doesn’t really care about you

• (Harold Garfinkel)

interactional vandalism - subordinate person breaks rules of everyday interaction of value to more powerful

• ex. homeless continues to engage in everyday talk after passerby shows resistance

response cries - muttered exclaimations

• ex. Oops!

• (Goffman)

personal space - physical space individuals maintain between themselves

• differs between cultures

• intimate distance - 1 ½ ft, few social contacts

• personal distance - 1 ½-4 ft, normal space for friends/close acquaintances

• social distance - 4-12 ft, fomal settings

• public distance - beyond 12 ft, performing to audience

• (Edward T. Hall)

regionalization - division of social life into regional settings/zones

• social life zoned in time-space

• ex. living room and kitchen most used in daylight hours

clock time - time measured by clock

• zoning of activities influenced by clocks

• standardized across globe

compulsion of proximity - humans neeed personal interaction

• ex. meetings

• (Deirdre Boden, Harvey Molotch)

cosmospolitan (cosmos) - open minded people

• (Elijah Anderson)

ethnocentric (ethnos) - close minded people

• (Elijah Anderson)